Office of the PremierOffice of the Premier
The Province is taking action to make sure people with long-term concurrent mental-health and addiction challenges get secure and dignified care by opening highly secure facilities for people under the Mental Health Act throughout the province, as well as secure treatment within BC Corrections.
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Agriculture and FoodB.C. farmers are getting help with adopting new labour-saving technologies that will enhance their profitability, productivity and efficiency, while helping to improve food security in the province.
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Attorney GeneralNominations for the honorary designation of King’s Counsel (KC) for 2024 will open on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024.
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Children and Family DevelopmentFrom Indigenous Services Canada: https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/sts-ailes-canada-and-b-c-celebrate-coordination-agreement-to-support-child-and-family-services-833129120.html
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Citizens' ServicesAs part of British Columbia’s ongoing work to protect government information systems, the Province is entering an agreement with the Government of Canada to enhance collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (Cyber Centre).
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Education and Child Care
Families in Surrey will have 915 more elementary seats in their community as part of the B.C. government’s plan to expand schools quicker.
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Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
To help keep people safe and informed during emergencies, the Province is providing funding to communities in B.C. to improve planning for emergency evacuation routes and public notifications.
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Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation
BC Hydro will construct approximately $1 billion worth of capital projects in Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Hope and Harrison Hot Springs over the next decade to upgrade and expand the electricity grid to provide clean power for homes, businesses and growing transportation needs.
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Environment and Climate Change StrategyFinanceB.C. is negotiating earlier pensions for wildland firefighters helping align their benefits with those of other public-safety occupations while they protect communities from increasingly challenging wildfire activity.
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ForestsB.C. is negotiating earlier pensions for wildland firefighters helping align their benefits with those of other public-safety occupations while they protect communities from increasingly challenging wildfire activity.
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Health
Patients in Kamloops now have improved access to services as upgrades at the Royal Inland Hospital (RIH) are complete, including enhancements to the post-anesthetic recovery (PAR) unit, pediatric unit and ambulance stretcher bays.
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Housing
Families, seniors and individuals in Victoria with low to moderate incomes are moving into 97 new rental homes with the opening of Michigan Square, while another 58 homes for earners with middle incomes are on the way through new BC Builds projects.
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Indigenous Relations and ReconciliationThe Coastal First Nations-Great Bear Initiative (CFN) and the Government of British Columbia are strengthening their decades-long relationship by renewing their commitment to work together through a reconciliation agreement that builds off the success of their 2009 reconciliation protocol and 2020 Pathway to Reconciliation memorandum of understanding (MOU), to continue to benefit all those who live on the north and central coast.
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Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat
The King Charles III Coronation Medal was awarded to outstanding individuals in British Columbia during a ceremony with the lieutenant governor.
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Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation
New support for forest-sector manufacturers throughout the province will create jobs, strengthen local economies and promote the transition to high-value, made-in-B.C. forestry products.
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LabourConstruction workers can soon say goodbye to unsanitary portable toilets on most construction sites and say hello to cleaner flush toilets.
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Mental Health and Addictions
The Province is taking action to make sure people with long-term concurrent mental-health and addiction challenges get secure and dignified care by opening highly secure facilities for people under the Mental Health Act throughout the province, as well as secure treatment within BC Corrections.
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Municipal AffairsPost-Secondary Education and Future Skills
Selkirk College students now have access to new on-campus housing at Castlegar and Nelson-Silver King campuses.
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Public Safety and Solicitor General
The Province is taking action to make sure people with long-term concurrent mental-health and addiction challenges get secure and dignified care by opening highly secure facilities for people under the Mental Health Act throughout the province, as well as secure treatment within BC Corrections.
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Social Development and Poverty Reduction
People facing complex barriers will have better access to employment opportunities with the launch of wraparound services that support the most vulnerable on their path to employment readiness.
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Tourism, Arts, Culture and Sport
Eighteen people in British Columbia are being honoured with the Province’s Medal of Good Citizenship for their extraordinary contributions to their communities.
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Transportation and Infrastructure
Hundreds of new homes and space for amenities such as grocery stores and child care near transit are coming soon as plans for the future site of the Surrey Langley SkyTrain project move forward.
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Water, Land and Resource StewardshipWater has begun to overflow the landslide blocking the Chilcotin River near Farwell Canyon.
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Minister of Finance and Minister responsible for Columbia Basin Trust, Columbia Power Corporation, and the Columbia River Treaty
FinanceB.C. is negotiating earlier pensions for wildland firefighters helping align their benefits with those of other public-safety occupations while they protect communities from increasingly challenging wildfire activity.
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Amendments to the Property Law Act introduced on Monday, March 28, 2022, will enable the creation of a new Homebuyer Protection Period to protect people buying a home in a challenging real estate market.
The Homebuyer Protection Period, sometimes called a “right of recission,” responds to concerns that in the highly competitive housing market, buyers are reporting pressure to submit offers without basic conditions intended to protect their interests.
The amendments would enable the creation of a period to give people buying a home more time to consider their offers, ensure financing and obtain a home inspection, instead of feeling like they need to waive these conditions. Regulations will be introduced this year to define the specific time homebuyers will have to exercise this right as well as the financial costs of retracting an offer. The legislation also allows for regional variation within the province, recognizing the housing market varies between regions.
“People need to have protection as they make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives,” said Selina Robinson, Minister of Finance. “In our overheated housing market, we have seen buyers feeling pressure to waive conditions just to be considered, and new homeowners discovering costly problems only after a deal has closed. We want to make sure people buying a home have time to get the information they need to make a sound decision within limits that still give sellers the certainty they need to close sales.”
A new homebuyer protection period is one part of the Province’s efforts to protect people during the home-buying process. The parameters of this new tool, as well as any other new consumer protections to be implemented, will be informed by the result of a consultation that BC Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) completed with a range of real estate industry stakeholders, including home inspectors, appraisers, Realtors, academics and representatives from the legal and financial services sectors.
BCFSA’s analysis of the consultation is expected this spring and will inform development of the regulations that will implement the homebuyer protection period with the goal of having protection measures in place by summer.
Quotes:
Michael Renaud, recent B.C. homebuyer –
“I am lucky that I am Red Seal tradesperson and could inspect homes I viewed myself and with friends. I would be very uncomfortable making an offer on a million-dollar home without a house inspection or the time to get good advice. As a recent buyer, both viewing and financing felt rushed, and I would have appreciated more time to review everything on such an important purchase. I think this is a step in the right direction and I hope more policy is implemented to help first-time buyers in particular.”
Helene Barton, executive director, Home Inspectors Association BC –
“Every B.C. homebuyer must be allowed the opportunity to conduct their own due diligence prior to a purchase and avoid the high risk of buying without a home inspection.”
Paul Taylor, president and CEO, Mortgage Professionals Canada –
“The introduction of a short, unrestricted cooling-off period or a separate, longer period to ensure appropriate financing can be arranged would remove uncertainty from home purchases and sales, and potentially save both buyers and sellers considerable costs over time.”
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